CHALLENGING THE NOTION OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS BY THE USA EMPIRE: THE CASE OF ZIMBABWE AND VENEZUELA

Sanctions represent a middle ground in international
politics, being more severe than mere verbal condemnation, but less severe than
the use of force. In accordance with Article 41 of the charter of the United
Nations, authority to impose sanctions lies exclusively with the Security
Council. Regional organisations are authorised under Article 52 to “achieve pacific settlement of
local disputes” without express permission of the Security Council, “provided
that…their activities are consistent with the purposes and principles of the
United Nations”.

In practice, sanctions have comprised a wide range of
actions, from economic embargoes to restrictions on participation in the
Olympic games. Here is a brief classification of sanctions: economic, travel,
military, diplomatic or cultural. Trade sanctions restrict imports and exports
to and from the target country. Comprehensive trade sanctions are the target of
the current criticism of sanctions regimes, because of the humanitarian crises
that have erupted in countries against which such sanctions have been imposed.
Financial sanctions address monetary issues. They can include blocking
governmental assets held abroad, limiting access to financial markets and
restricting loans and credits, restricting international transfer payments and
restricting the sale and trade of property abroad. Governments will be unable
to pay for imports, and trade will suffer.

Travel sanctions can include both sanctions against
the travel of certain individuals or groups and sanctions against certain kinds
of air transport. Bans
on certain types of air travel include the current ban on taking off or landing
of any aircraft owned, leased or operated by or on behalf of the Taliban,
established by the Security Council in its resolution 1267 (1999). Military sanctions may include arms embargoes or the
termination of military assistance or training. This may also include the
denial to sale military equipment to a country. Diplomatic sanctions directly
target the rulers of a sanctioned State. Other steps towards diplomatic
isolation include the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel and international
organizations from the target country. Finally, cultural sanctions, while
having less of a negative impact than other forms of sanctions, can still have
undesired results

Having highlighted the different
categories of sanctions, I will now turn to challenge the notion of sanctions
as applied by the USA Empire. First, there are many instances in our
contemporary history when sanctions have been applied unilaterally as a tool
for regime change by the USA Empire and its Zionist entity. There are lots of
examples to draw from. From Iraq to Zimbabwe, Cuba, and now to the drama that
is currently unfolding in Venezuela. Second, sanctions according to
international law is a prerogative of the collective called the UN Security
Council. It is never an issue of one individual country to go about pronouncing
sanctions for their own selfish means.

For instance, in the case of Zimbabwe,
the negotiations that led to a settlement of the protracted Rhodesian war that
pitted the freedom fighters from ZANU-PF (ZANLA) and PF-ZAPU (ZIPRA) which
later united and merged into ZANU-PF, was a bilateral dispute between Zimbabwe
and Britain. When the independent nation of Zimbabwe sought to address this
historical imbalance, which was skewed in favour of 4000 white commercial
farmers who owned about 70% of arable farmland, the USA Empire joined in
support of the British stance and imposed sanctions unilaterally on the
Southern African nation.

The economic sanctions that have been
imposed on Zimbabwe is tantamount to “terrorism”. They were designed to foment
an uprising like the kind that is currently unfolding in Venezuela that have
seen the country’s economy crumbling and has brought a lot of untold suffering
to the ordinary people. What the USA Empire had in mind was obviously regime
change. They tried to prop up the MDC party and many civic organisations by
funding them to the tune of billions of dollars, but it failed. The liberation
party ZANU-PF prevailed and thanks to the resilience of the people of Zimbabwe.
Just last week, President Trump again renewed these terrible sanctions even
though the country held an election that was considered fair and credible by
many international observers.

The same scenario that happened in
Zimbabwe is being repeated in Venezuela by the USA Empire and its Zionist
friends. The USA imposition of sanctions on Venezuela is not something recent.
When Hugo Chavez rose to power in Venezuela, he chose a path of total political
and economic independence for his country, a development that did not go down
well with the USA Empire.

The Empire and its Zionist allies have
been eyeing the vast oil resources that Venezuela has and have been seeking to
control for their own benefit. What many people do not know is that, when Mr
Trump came into power, he imposed sanctions on Venezuela as a prelude to regime
change. It is important to note that these sanctions are not UN sanctions, but
are unilateral in nature, which makes them illegal. Surely, the people of
Venezuela will resist this latest plot by the USA Empire. The economic
terrorism imposed by the US empire will be defeated.

Lastly, in the light of the above, I
would like to challenge the notion and definition of democracy as is being
peddled that it is “governance of the people, by the people and with the
people” to “governance for the people, with the elite by the elite”. Africa
must wake up!

By:

Dr Mustafa Bothwell Mheta has a PhD in Semitic Languages and
Cultures from the University of Johannesburg, Department of Religion Studies
.He is also a Researcher at the Media Review Network.